chopsticks

[melonpan]

hi there. we eat with chopsticks everyday, for two or three meals a day.

i hate korean style chopsticks (the super thin metal ones). they make my hands cramp and i never wanted to train myself to just get used to them. i am not a big fan of the chinese restaurant melamine ones, although they are okay in a pinch. we dont have any of them at home anymore though.

right now we use thick wooden ones (the pic is similar to what we use). i am lazy and i throw them in the dishwasher which is really rough on the wood and they do warp. im getting sick of how warped ours are getting, which is how it always is. i generally replace a batch every 4-5 years. it feels wasteful but i hate handwashing (i run our dishwasher 1-2 times a day).

so im probably going to go for another set of wooden lacquered chopsticks but ill take care to handwash them.

i usually buy about 10-12 pairs at a time so that we dont run out. but before i go out and get another batch i thought i might ask what you do at your homes. maybe get some new ideas.

how often do you eat with them? what kind do you have? how many do you have? how do you wash them? do yours last a long time? or do you replace as often as i do?

thanks so much for reading and answering.

Image provided courtesy of http://www.pachd.com/

Edited September 25, 2010 by heidih
Add photo credit (log)

[percival]

I use chopsticks daily. I'm sure I used them before spoons or forks or knives. The kidlet uses a spoon. He's already got enough scars on his face, thanks.

I like the Korean metal chopsticks because they don't warp. I disklike the Korean metal chopsticks because you burn your fingers if you're eating anything hot. Like bibimbap. Or soondubu. Don't get me started on serving people boiling hot soup in metal bowls and steaming hot rice in 400+ degree stoneware.

I intensely dislike Japanese chopsticks, not only because they're pointy, but primarily because they warp extremely easily. It's hard enough to grab anything with two sticks that intentionally do not meet -- two sticks that simultaneously intentionally and unintentionally do not meet is beyond ridiculous. And how do they warp? If they get too hot. If they get too wet. You know, things that never ever happen to eating utensils. I have dozens of pairs, and I clear out the warped ones regularly. I wouldn't even buy them, but the Japanese part of the family prefers to eat challenged.

Mind you, all chopsticks warp, but Chinese bamboo and melamine ones last a helluva lot longer straight, because there's just more material. They resist heat better. And water doesn't do anything to melamine.

I picked up some nice ones in Vietnam. Hand carved hardwood, lacquered, with inlaid mother of pearl. Cheaper than dirt in dollars. The taper is closer to Japanese, but thicker. They warp, but they look damn good before they do.

I'd say best way to save your chopsticks: never cook with them, never use them to spear big pieces of meat, never leave them sitting in water, and immediately dry them off after washing. And if you're using cheap melamine ones: so what if you ruin them, they're a nickel a pair.

Edited September 22, 2010 by percival (log)

[torakris]

We use chopsticks everyday, at least once a day but often 2 times or more. My favorite by far are Japanese chopsticks and the thinner the tip the better. I find the thinner tip is much easier for picking up everything except noodles. I have Korean metal ones but find them awkward to use and often burn my lips when the food is very hot. I don't even own the Chinese ones any more as I found them too big and hard to handle.

I buy cheap ones, 5 pairs for 100 yen (just over $1) and they last for a couple years, I've never had problem with warping but I replace them when the paint on the top is pretty much worn off. The chopsticks are hand washed but only because I don't own a dishwasher..

I don't really have that many pairs in the house. We are a family of 5 and we each have a pair of Korean metal ones and a pair of wooden Japanese ones. I also have a couple extra pairs for guests.

[Prawncrackers]

Gotta have pair of cheapo wooden ones for cooking any kind of meal, they're as versatile as long heat proof fingers in that respect! I also have long pair of metal Japanese "tempura" style ones which are great for deep frying and a shorter pair of moribashi that I rarely use.

For eating, I'm not so fussy. I grew up using the long Chinese ones which are best for family style meal and shovelling rice into ya gob. The length helps give better reach to grab that last piece of chicken thigh on the other side of the table before my brother sees it. Though I love the balance and feel of the shorter Japanese ones, particularly the double ended ones you use for Kaiseki-style meals. But I think my favourite is a 500 Yen set of pointed Pentagonal ebony ones i got in a Hashi shop off Omotesando Dori in Tokyo last year. They're feel absolutely fantastic, the shape of them rest perfectly in my fingers. Absolutely useless for soupy noodles though!

[nakji]

We use chopsticks everyday, too. We have a set of Japanese lacquered ones - a husband and wife set given to us as a gift. They work fine for us. I also had a back up set of squared-off tapered wooden ones from Muji that I kept around for when guests are over, but they grew mold over the winter, like pretty much everything else in my kitchen. I need to replace them, and I'll probably just pick up a multi-pak at Wal-mart or whatever. We don't have a dishwasher, so they don't get a lot of abuse in our house, but I'll probably get bamboo ones, just because I like the feel.

My husband retains a soft spot in his heart for Korean chopsticks, since those are the very first kind he learned how to use, but I have no great love for them, and wouldn't go out of my way to find a pair. Korean soup spoons, on the other hand, are perfectly design for gobbing up rice and dipping into jigae. Those I did bring a couple of along with me when I moved.

[janeer]

I have all these beautiful lacquered chopsticks that I never use. I like my wooden chopsticks that have squared off ends (top) and cylindrical tips. I don't like chopsticks with pointy tips. I throw mine in the dishwasher, they have lasted for years and years. A few of them have warped a little. But I have loads and just match up the best ones...

[MomOfLittleFoodies]

I use cheap wooden ones, granted we're a Japanese-American family living in the US, so chopsticks aren't everyday utensils for us.

[jsager01]

I collect chopsticks (dont ask me why)... made of wood, bamboo, some kind of fish/whale bone, korean metal ones, genuine ivory, and even disposables. Most have some kind of 'embellishment' , eg carved, lacquered and/or inlaid with mother of pearl, etc; However, i dont use any of these, except for the plain fishbone and ivory ones for special ocassions.

What I normally use are plain bamboo ones and they are cheap (and green?) enough that i dont worry about replacements. I prefer the bamboo ones to the wooden ones. By 'plain' i mean no embellishment, as i am not sure how safe the various colorings and metals used in the embellishments are, and they also fade or wear off. And i have the bad habit of using my regular chopsticks when i do deepfrying, and of course they burn, but those are usually the only ones that i have to replace. I hand wash as i do not have a dish washer.

Bottom line: cannot remember when i last bought new chopsticks, but i think i will have to do so pretty soon, doing a bit more deep frying than normal :-)).

BTW: the disposable japanese style chopsticks, ie with pointed tips, are great when i have guests that are not that confident in the use of chopsticks, but would like to use chopsticks etc. They usually use the pointie tips to spear food, it works, ok not for noodles.

[pyrguy]

I have a set of Titanium metal sticks made by a knife maker. I got them at a knife show a few years ago.

Don't use then everyday but they work well.

[Hiroyuki]

melonpan: I wonder if you can get dishwasher-safe chopsticks where you live.

[Kouign Aman]

All our chopsticks (except possibly the laquer ones) are dishwasher safe on the top shelf. There's alittle flat basket we lay in there, and all is well.

The bottom shelf does seem to get too hot, or maybe its the upright washing position, but there's warping from there.

[SheenaGreena]

I grew up using korean chopsticks and find them easiest to use, because not only are the ends small, but the tips meet up at the end.

I notice that Japanese chopsticks tend to not meet up at the ends so I can have a hard time eating things like small sheets of seaweed wrapped around rice.

Perfect pair of chopsticks would be korean style made out of laquered wood. Do these exist?

[Prawncrackers]

But I think my favourite is a 500 Yen set of pointed Pentagonal ebony ones i got in a Hashi shop off Omotesando Dori in Tokyo last year. They're feel absolutely fantastic, the shape of them rest perfectly in my fingers. Absolutely useless for soupy noodles though!

Whoops i meant 5000Yen! Yeah I know for a pair of wooden chopsticks, like I said they're really nice...

[Florida]

I collect chopsticks as well (it's a relatively cheap hobby) and have over a hundred pair. However, there's probably only about 10 pair I and the wife use on a somewhat regular basis and we only use them about once a week or so. We vary which ones I use depending on what we are eating.

Never thought about putting them in the dishwasher. After all, they're just sticks: takes about as much effort to wash them by hand as it does to put them in the dishwasher.

[jsager01]

i guess you do not put those ebony chopsticks into the dishwasher? and as Florida had posted, i dont see why it is necessary or beneficial in any way to put chopsticks into dishwashers. Just hold them between your palms, add some dishwashing liquid, and rub them together under a faucet/tap of luke warm water.

[Kat Tanaka Okopnik]

I see lots of people commenting and saying that their Japanese-style chopsticks don't meet at the tips, that Korean chopsticks work better at the tips, and also that they manage Chinese blunt-tip chopsticks fine. (Obviously, these are not necessarily the same people!)

I'm coming to the conclusion that there are either expectation differences, or actual subtle changes to hand position or something, that makes a difference. I grew up with Japanese chopsticks, and I find both the Korean thin metal type, and the thick long Chinese type incredibly frustrating to use. The Korean type hurt my hands, and I can't manage tofu with them, and I can't pick up a lot of things with the Chinese kind. (I think I'm supposed to use the sides of the chopsticks more, maybe, with the Chinese kind?)

Anyone else with experience with all three, who can shed some light on this?

[melonpan]

im not sure but i dont think theres any difference in holding them between these three types. or maybe thats WHY my hands hurt when i use the korean metal ones. but i suspect that theres no difference. i think its just a matter of getting used to it and training your muscles.

the japanese wooden ones do meet at the tips if you dont abuse them like i do.

the chinese blunt ones i use just fine. theyre very utilitarian and they are by far, most economical. but i really like using the wooden ones.

the new ones i bought arent $5 a pair but $2.50. not very cheap, but i like them a lot.

and i will just get over myself and handwash from here on. no biggie.

thanks so much everyone.